Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1887-09-30
Your General Reputation.

T., the ordinary, unprofessional
mind he qu -lio1s asked witnesses
ia Curt ofteH seem crude and ride
ulous For instaLc. in the trial OF
tie liquor cases last week the verdict
10 one ur two cases depended on the
character of two young men of this
town for temperance o. intemperance,
and as each witGess was called be
was asked do you know IS gen.
eral reputation for temperance or in-
temperance ?" If the witness said he
did not, he was dismissed, but if he
said be did, and that the character
of the person referred to was good or
bad for temperance, he wes asked
who be heard say SO. how many he
heard say so, and dozen other SINH
lar questions; but what the witness
saw himself dida't seem to count.
Now, of the two young men whose
character were under consideration in
these cases, one was born and raised
in this town, and yet we doubt If
shere are fifty men III the town who
have heard bis character discussed to
an extent which would warrant them
in saying that they know his general
reputation in any one respect; the
other man has been here but a few
moths and there are probably not a
dozen men in the town who know his
general reputation. All other citizens
of the towc could 60 on the stand and
swear that they never
heard their character discussed,
and in fac. the two men have no gen.
eral reputation. They may have
spent half their time going from one
barroom to another and they may
have spent all the money they made
or could secure, in those bar-rooms,
ard yet how many would koow It,
A man who is Oh the street great
deal himself, Or whose Office is on a
corner where he could zee them, might
know it from his own observation,
bu: if he never beard any number OF
people make remark Of it be would
not, under the rulings Of cur Courts,
in such cases, know the parties gen
eral regulations. The policemen of
the town, likely know who the drunk
en- Ioafers Of this town are, but it may
not be to their interest to express
themselves very clearly or forcibly re-
garding them.
The point we wish tomake is that
no one man in any community knows
the general reputation for truth and
veracity; honesty or dishonesty, TEN
perance or intemperance, moral
ity or immortality, Of any person in
it. excepting in exceptional cases.
There are few men in this town
who are known by quite number of
our citizens to be sharpers CT dead
beats"tbere are few pretty generally
known to be immoral, and there are a
few mon who are known by quite a
number to be men Of intemperate hah-
its, but sincs the death of a certain
brilliant but unfortunate attorney, no
man in the town has q general repu-
tatiop for intemperance.
A reputation Tor immortality tray
els faster than any other, because
that is a more favorite theme for gos-
sip. When a man who has been pro-
minent politically or professionally
or woman who has been prominent
socially becomes openly immoral, it
soon becomes known, while less in-
portant persons, just as immoral are
but little talked about. The degree
Of prominence generally regulates the
amount of talk, aud creates except
oDal cases; and these exceptional cases
alone are generally known.
We beleye that in all cases in
volyipg character, witness should
be allowed to tell what he or she
knows by rsa.on o. theic own Senses
or experience, leaving the jury and not
the witness, to be the judge Of facts,
az they are in other cases.